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Recently, academics have shown interest and enthusiasm in the development and implementation of stochastic customer base analysis models, such as the Pareto/NBD model and the BG/NBD model. Using the information these models provide, customer managers should be able to (1) distinguish active customers from inactive customers, (2) generate transaction forecasts for individual customers and determine future best customers, and (3) predict the purchase volume of the entire customer base. However, there is also a growing frustration among academics insofar as these models have not found their way into wide managerial application. To present arguments in favor of or against the use of these models in practice, the chapter compares the quality of these models when applied to managerial decision making with the simple heuristics that firms typically use. The chapter finds that the simple heuristics perform at least as well as the stochastic models with regard to all managerially relevant areas, except for predictions regarding future purchases at the overall customer base level. The chapter concludes that in their current state, stochastic customer base analysis models should be implemented in managerial practice with much care. Furthermore, it identify areas for improvement to make these models managerially more useful.

This chapter explains advanced synthesis methods for moving from information to knowledge—for building frameworks in which experiences can be mapped and better understood. Individual methods are presented, along with case studies.

This chapter explores musical communication in a cinematic context. It presents empirical and theoretical models of film music perception and the role of music in film. It illustrates some of the ways in which a film's soundtrack can not only contribute towards but also expand upon the meaning of a film's narrative, and on what it communicates to the audience.

This chapter is based on the proposition that three major forces, taken together, have fundamentally changed the nature of work in the 21st century. These three forces are technology, the rise of the service economy, and globalization, and they drive organizations to seek employees who possess what are called 21st century skills. After reviewing the essential features of what generally defines a skill, this chapter focuses on discussing nine 21st century skills centered around these three driving forces: leadership, customer service, teamwork, safety, creativity, critical thinking, metacognition and self-regulation, cross-cultural knowledge and competence, and ethics and integrity. The chapter concludes with implications for education and training of the 21st century workforce.